Nelson Mandela lies in state in Pretoria; throngs expected to pay respects

By Jethro Mullen and Ed Payne, CNN

Updated 6:27 PM ET, Wed December 11, 2013

Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – The hearse carrying former South African President Nelson Mandela leaves the Union Buildings after the final day of his lying in state in Pretoria, South Africa, on Friday, December 13.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – The national flag-draped coffin of the former South African President is carried down steps of the Union Buildings at the end of the third and final day of lying in state on December 13.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – South African Naval personnel stand guard around Mandela's casket as he is carried to the Union Buildings on the final day of his lying in state on December 13.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – A cheering man climbs up a fence after the casket of Mandela passed on its way to the Union Buildings on December 13.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – A rainbow forms over the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday, December 12, after the public viewing of Mandela's casket.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – Mandela's funeral procession drives toward the Union Buildings on December 12. Each morning his remains were transported from the mortuary to the government buildings.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – People queue to catch a bus to see the remains of Nelson Mandela at the Union Buildings on December 12.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – People attend the memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday, December 10. Thousands of South Africans and more than 90 heads of state gathered to honor the revered leader, who died Thursday, December 5. He was 95.

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Nelson Mandela memorial service – Mandela supporters make their way to the stadium.

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Nelson Mandela memorial service – A group of people gets a ride to the event.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – Former members of the armed wing of the African National Congress run through the streets on their way to the memorial service.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – People in the stadium take shelter from the rain.

Nelson Mandela memorial service – World leaders, including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, top second left, and French President Francois Hollande, top second right, attend the memorial service.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – South Africa Rugby Union captain Francois Pienaar waits for the memorial service to begin.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – Mourners wave flags at a telecast of the memorial service at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

Nelson Mandela memorial service – British Prime Minister David Cameron arrives for the memorial service.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – Former British Prime Minister John Major arrives for the memorial service.

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Nelson Mandela memorial service – Members of the public sing and dance as they arrive for the memorial service at FNB Stadium.

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Nelson Mandela memorial service – People arrive at FNB Stadium before the memorial service.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – Members of the public make their way to the memorial service at FNB Stadium.

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Photos: Nelson Mandela memorial service55 photos

Nelson Mandela memorial service – A man clutches the official program in Johannesburg.

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Nelson Mandela memorial service – Mourners sing as they take shelter from the rain in the hallways of FNB Stadium.

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Nelson Mandela memorial service – A man waves a South African flag at FNB Stadium.

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Nelson Mandela memorial service – People walk around the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

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Story highlights

Mandela's widow and former wife pay their respects

Nelson Mandela's body will lie in state in Pretoria for three days

Family members and dignitaries view body, public viewing began Wednesday

Crowds line the procession route from Johannesburg to Pretoria

Heads bowed, solemn, they filed by.

The rich, the powerful. The famous and the family. All of them bidding goodbye to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela on Wednesday, the first of three days his body will lie in state at the seat of South Africa's government.

First was South African President Jacob Zuma. Then came Mandela's widow, Graça Machel, and former wife Winnie Mandela, both wearing black turbans.

In near silence, dozens of family members passed by as military honor guards dressed in white flanked the coffin on each end.

There were others in Pretoria, too. Former South African leaders Thabo Mbeki and F.W. de Klerk, the country's last apartheid-era president and Nobel Peace Prize winner. U2's Bono also paused for a moment before moving on. So did Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

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The first several hours was reserved for family and dignitaries, but the public was to be allowed to file past his casket later Wednesday, as well as on Thursday and Friday. Viewing hours were expected to be limited to daylight. Long lines are expected to form early in the morning.

On Saturday, a military aircraft is to take Mandela's remains from a Pretoria airbase to Mthatha, the main town in the province of Eastern Cape.

Thousands of mourners are expected to line the streets leading from Mthatha airport to watch as the military moves Mandela's casket on a gun carriage to the remote village of Qunu, where the former leader spent his childhood.

Historic venue

The hearse carrying the casket of the former South African leader, who died last week at 95, arrived early Wednesday. It weaved through streets lined with people in Pretoria, the capital, on its way to the Union Buildings.

The somber mood Wednesday was a sharp change from the celebratory atmosphere at a memorial event on Tuesday, in Johannesburg.

"This is a very poignant moment," Khehla Shubane, who served time in prison with Mandela. "This is not the Mandela who was in control of things that were happening around him, inspiring people. This is a Mandela who's in death now."

As the body arrived, an honor guard stood at attention and a hushed crowd looked on as eight military officers, led by a chaplain, carried the coffin inside. Police helicopters hovered overhead. A South African flag hung outside at half staff.

Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, and Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula led a group of mourners wearing black who walked behind the coffin.

Mandela's casket was placed under a dome, close to where, in 1994, he had taken the oath of office to become South Africa's first democratically elected president.

On that day, crowds converged around the building to witness history being made. Mandela, a former political prisoner, became South Africa's first post-apartheid black leader.

From U.S. President Barack Obama to Cuban President Raul Castro, praise for the statesman came from all sides in a four-hour memorial service at Johannesburg FNB stadium.

"We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again," Obama said to cheers.

"To the people of South Africa -- people of every race and every walk of life -- the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us," he added, calling him a "giant of history."

Rain poured throughout the service, but did little to dampen the mood.

Inside the stadium, the atmosphere was celebratory, with people dancing and singing songs from the anti-apartheid struggle.

Posters bearing Mandela's likeness hung around them. It was there that, 23 years earlier, Mandela had delivered his first speech after he was released from prison, hailed by supporters as the hope of a new South Africa.

Also known as Soccer City, the stadium was where Mandela made his last public appearance at the World Cup final in July 2010.